Hat/beret with opening for wearer&#39;s hair or synthetic hair

ABSTRACT

A hat comprising dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user&#39;s head and one or more holes in the dome shaped material to allow a user&#39;s hair to pass through. An elastic band is included around the lower edge of the dome shaped elastic material, the elastic band being made of a material having a higher elasticity than the elastic material, and the elastic band allowing the hat to be worn as a hat or beret. In another embodiment synthetic hair passes through at least one of the one or more holes to give the appearance that the. synthetic hair originates from a user&#39;s head. Synthetic hair can also extend from the lower edge of the dome-shaped material. This synthetic hair embodiment is particularly useful for those loosing their natural hair through medical treatment.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/593,946 to Lynn, filed on Feb. 25, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to head covering and more particularly to a head covering that can be worn as a hat or beret that can either have openings for the wearer's hair or can be arranged with synthetic hair.

2. Description of the Related Art

A number of hats have been developed with holes for the wearer's hair to pass through. U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,509 describes an accessory item including a baseball type cap having a cut-out through which the wearer's hair may rearwardly extend. A strap extends across the opening or cut-out generally aligned with the lower edge peripheral edge of the cap, with the strap providing adjustment for different head sizes. A decorative hair band is attached to the rear of the cap at or near the cut-out. In use, the wearer's hear extends through the cut-out and through the hear band. In an alternate embodiment, a hair piece can be removably attached to the hair band by Velcro to simulate a natural braid or ponytail.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,854 discloses a baseball cap type headwear piece having a crown defining an opening to accept the head of a wearer, with the crown having a top and bottom, front and back, and a peripheral wall having an annular configuration. An opening is provided through the peripheral crown wall to allow passage therethrough of an accumulation of hair on the head of a wearer with the headwear piece in place on the wearer's head.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,799 also discloses a headgear accessory adaptable to an existing baseball type cap, hat, hood, or other article worn on the head, to cover a hole or passage formed therein to provide for the passage of the hair of the wearer therethrough. Using the present headgear accessory, a hole may be placed in the headgear at a location comfortable for the passage of longer hair (e.g., ponytail, braid, etc.) therethrough, and the accessory sewn or otherwise secured to the headgear to provide a decorative closure for the hole. The accessory is preferably formed of a resilient, flexible material such as neoprene sheet, with a synthetic fabric overlay for additional strength and to provide a more attractive appearance. A series of slots are formed in the neoprene/fabric sheet, through which the wearer's hair is passed. The resilient nature of the sheet material biases the material to each side of each of the slots against the hair, thereby providing greater security for the headgear on the wearer's head and yet providing for ease of removal of the headgear. The periphery and edges of the slots of the accessory may be stitched for greater durability and to provide an attractive appearance, if desired. The accessory may be provided separately, or in combination with various types of hats, caps, hoods, and/or other headgear of virtually any type.

Other types of hats with opening have been described in U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 2002/0162155, 2003/0009813, 2004/0006809 and 2005/0066421.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of a hat according to the present invention comprises a dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user's head. One or more holes are provided in the dome shaped material to allow a user's hair to pass through. An elastic band is included around the lower edge of the dome shaped elastic material, the elastic band being made of a material having a higher elasticity than the elastic material, and the elastic band allowing the hat to be worn as a hat or beret.

Another embodiment of a hat according to the present invention comprises dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user's head. One or more holes are included in the dome shaped material to allow a user's hair to pass through. Synthetic hair passes through at least one of the one or more holes to give the appearance that the synthetic hair originates from a user's head.

These and further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of one embodiment of a hat/beret according to the present invention having a high pass through hole and being worn as a hat;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the hat in FIG. 1, worn as a beret;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of a hat/beret according to the present invention having a low pass through hole;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a hat/beret according to the present invention having two pass through holes for pigtails;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the hat shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a hat/beret according to the present invention having two pass through holes for pigtails; and

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of another embodiment of a hat according to the present invention having rear and side hair attachments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to head covering arranged such that it can be worn as a hat or a beret, with the head covering either having one or more openings for the user's hair to pass through, or having hair attached to give the appearance that the wearer's hair is passing through the one or more openings or extending from beneath the head covering (“hat”). The hat generally comprises a dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user's head. The hat can be made of many different materials and fabrics, with a preferred hat being made of soft knit or fur knit fabric that is stretchy to enable the hat to stretch. This allows the wearer's hair to be pulled through the desired openings providing the wearer with a unique, trendy hair style, and/or a way to keep a hairstyle undisturbed while wearing the hat. The hat can be sized to be worn by babies, toddlers, children, teens and adults, and be constructed with various styles such as with fur knits or ear flaps, and can be provided with other matching clothing such as scarves or gloves.

The hat can comprise a soft ribbing in the area covering the wearer's forehead. This in combination with the stretchy openings for the user's hair to pass through creates a hat that is both convenient and comfortable to wear. The hat can also provide a stretchy band along its lower periphery that allows the hat to be worn both as a hat or a beret.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show one embodiment of a hat 10 according to the present invention that can be worn both as a hat or a beret. The hat 10 generally comprises a stretchy material formed in a dome shape to fit a user's head 11 and to allow the hat 10 to be worn over the top of a user's head 11, The hat 10 also has an opening/hole 12 for the user's hair 13 to pass through, although it is understood. that the opening 12 can be in different locations and the hat 10 can have more than one opening.

The hat 10 preferably has a band 14 around its edge that is made of a material that has a greater elasticity and stronger holding force around the user's head 11 than the remainder of the hat 10. The band 14 can be made of a material different from the remainder of the hat 10, or it can be made of the same material, such as a knit or fabric, woven to give the band its different characteristics. The band 14 in combination with the remainder of the hat 10, provide certain important features. The band 14 holds that hat 10 firmly in place on the user's head 11, which allows any hair 13 passing through the hole 12 to be remain securely within the hole 12.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the band 14 also allows the hat 10 to be worn as a beret by arranging the band 14 higher on the user's head. This portion of the head 11 has a smaller diameter than the lower portion of the head 11 and the greater elasticity of the band 14 causes it to close on this smaller diameter portion of the head 11 while the remainder of the hat 10 does not. This allows the hat 10 to be worn in different beret styles while still allowing the hair 13 to remain in the hole 12. For example, a portion of the hat 10 above the band 14 can be folded over at least part of the band 14 so that the hat at least partially covers part of the band. This allows the hat be worn with the like a beret, with the hole 12 still holding hair that passes through it.

In other embodiments of the hat 10 according to the present invention, the hole 12 can have a band 15 of higher elasticity material that the remainder of the hat. This allows the hair 13 to be firmly held within the hole 12.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of hat 30 according to the present invention having a low opening/hole 32 to accommodate hair 33 from lower on a user's head 31 to have a hole to pass through. This is most useful for those who prefer a low “pony tail” or for men who are balding and only have hair lower on their heads. The hat 30 also comprises a band 34 similar to the band 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and described herein.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of a hat 50 according to the present invention having two side holes 52 a and 52 b on the upper part of the user's head 51. This is most useful for those who prefer to wear their hair in more than one sections 53 a, 53 b and high on the head 51. This hair arrangement is commonly referred to as “pigtails”. The hat also comprises a band 54 similar to band 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and described herein, with the band 54 arranged so that is can be higher on the head 51 to allow the hat 50 to be worn as a beret.

FIGS. 6 shows still another embodiment of a hat 70 according to the present invention having two side holes 72 a and 72 b on the lower part of the user's head 71. This is most useful for those who prefer lower “pigtails”. The hat 70 also comprises a band 74 similar to band 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and described herein.

FIG. 7 shows still another embodiment of a hat 80 according to the present invention, having a band 82 similar to the band 14 described above. The hat 80, however, does not have holes for the user's hair to pass through similar to the holes described in the other embodiments of the hats described herein. Instead, the hat 80 has a hole 84 with synthetic hair 86 attached to the hat 80 and passing through the hole 84 giving the appearance that it is that of the users. The hair 86 can be attached to the hat in many different ways, with the preferred hair attached to the inside of the hat to the hair 86 passes through the hole from the inside of the hat. This gives the appearance that the hair actually originates from the user's head.

The hat 80 also has side hair section 88 attached to and hanging down from the lower edge of the hat 80. Like the hair 86 described above, the side hair 88 can also be attached to the hat in many different ways, but is also preferably attached to the inside of the hat 80 giving the appearance that the side hair 88 originates from the user's head. This hat 80 can comprise other hair pieces similarly attached to the hat 80 such as in the front or back or to provide additional side hair. The hat 80 can also have additional holes located in different areas with all or some of the holes having synthetic hair attached similar to hair 86.

Synthetic hair can be made of any material that gives the appearance that it is the user's, and in some embodiments the synthetic hair can actually be human hair attached to the hat. The hair can be braided as shown, and many different types (such as straight or curly) and colors of synthetic hair 86 can be used in hat 80. In still other embodiments, different colors and materials can be used to create novelty hats, with one example being brightly colored hair. It is also understood that the synthetic hair can be attached using many different methods, such a glue, hook and loop (Velcro®), threat, snap, etc.

The hat 80 is particularly applicable to user's who have lost their hair or are in the process of loosing their hair. For example, patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience hair loss, which can lead to embarrassment for the patient, particularly women. The hat 80 can be giving the appearance that the wearer's hair is extending through hat hole and from the lower edge of the hat.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred configurations, other versions are possible. For example, the hat can be made of many different materials, the holes can be in many different locations, and the synthetic hair can be attached to and extend from many different locations on the hat. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the preferred versions described above. 

1. A hat, comprising: dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user's head; one or more holes in said dome shaped material to allow a user's hair to pass through; an elastic band around the lower edge of said dome shaped elastic material, said elastic band being made of a material having a higher elasticity than said elastic material, said elastic band allowing said hat to be worn as a hat or beret.
 2. The hat of claim 1, wherein said holes are arranged to allow a user's hair to pass through and remain in said one or more holes when said hat is worn as a hat or beret.
 3. The hat of claim 1, wherein each of said one or more holes has a band of higher elasticity material around its edge to hold said hair.
 4. The hat of claim 1, wherein said one or more holes comprises a one hole near the top of said dome shaped material.
 5. The hat of claim 1, wherein said one or more holes comprises one hole near the lower edge of said dome shaped material.
 6. The hat of claim 1, wherein said one or more holes comprises two holes, each of which is on an opposing side of the dome shaped material.
 7. The hat of claim 1, wherein said user's hair comprises synthetic hair.
 8. The hat of claim 7, wherein said synthetic hair is attached to the inside of said dome shaped material and passes through said one or more holes.
 9. The hat of claim 7, further comprising synthetic hair attached to said dome shaped material and extending from the lower edge of said dome shaped material.
 10. A hat, comprising: dome shaped elastic material sized to fit over a user's head; one or more holes in said dome shaped material to allow a user's hair to pass through; synthetic hair passing through at least one of said one or more holes to give the appearance that said synthetic hair originates from a user's head.
 11. The hat of claim 10, wherein said synthetic hair is attached to inside surface of said dome shaped material.
 12. The hat of claim 10, wherein said synthetic hair further comprises side hair extending from the lower edge of said dome shaped material.
 13. The hat of claim 13, wherein said side hair is attached to the inside surface of said dome-shaped material.
 14. The hat of claim 10, further comprising an elastic band around the lower edge of said dome shaped elastic material, said elastic band being made of a material having a higher elasticity than said elastic material, said elastic band allowing said hat to be worn as a hat or beret.
 15. The hat of claim 10, wherein each of said one or more holes has a band of higher elasticity material around its edge to hold said hair. 